Jul 30 - St. Peter Chrysologus

+ Today we celebrate the feast of the “Doctor of Homilies” – St. Peter Chrysologus: (born 380, d. 450). He was archbishop of Ravenna in Italy, the capital of the Western Empire. “Chrysologus” in his name refers to the fact that he was “Golden-worded.” This title no doubt was given him, in addition to the fact that he deserved it, because the Western Church needed a suitable counterpart to the Eastern Church’s St. John Chrysostom (“Golden-tongued”), although Peter was not as eloquent as Augustine or Chrysostom himself.

 

His first sermon as bishop was preached before the empress, who became a generous patroness. A large number of his sermons survive. Their chief characteristic was that they were brief and to the point. They are suggestive of careful preparation, warmth and zeal; and they give us a good picture of what life was like in Ravenna at the time. Most are homilies on the Gospels and other parts of the Bible or exhortation to conversion and penance; he gave beautiful explanations of the Incarnation, the Creed, the place of Mary and John the Baptist in the great plan of salvation.  Unlike many of his contemporary bishops, his message was positive, trying to build up the faithful in love rather than to frighten them into submission. He died in 450 at Imola, Italy and was declared a Doctor of the Church in 1729 by Pope Benedict XIII.

 

It is up to us to honor Peter Chrysologus today, and to integrate his preaching and teaching into our own lives, and to use our own tongues in as polished and convincing way as he did, to maintain membership in God’s Church among those already present in it, and to attract others to it! The wonderful “plan of salvation” is intended for all people everywhere, and we pray that at least “many” of them will respond and join “fully and forcefully!”

With our lips we will declare the ordinances of your mouth, Lord!

 

Jul 15 - St Bonaventure

+ Saint Bonaventure, born in 1221 in Tuscany, Italy is also known as the Seraphic Doctor and is one of the greatest theologians in the Church. A Franciscan, he is sometimes referred to as the second founder of the order. His intellectual gifts were quickly recognized, and he was sent to Paris to study. There he became a friend of St. Thomas Aquinas who was a classmate. In the intellectual world, Bonaventure emphasized the affective over the rational approach to the study of divine mysteries: for Bonaventure, the purpose of human knowledge, including theology, is not to speculate, but to love. He graduated from the University, being awarded a Doctor of Theology.

Among his friends was King Saint Louis IX of France, with whom he often dined. Soon his order tapped Bonaventure to become their General; this occurred when he was just 35 years old. But, his pastoral zeal and continued writings of not only academic theology but also a biography of St. Francis and works on spiritual theology led to his being nominated as archbishop-cardinal of Albano – an invitation by Pope Gregory X he could not refuse. He then took a leading part in the Second Council of Lyons which tried to reconcile the differences between the Churches of the East and West. Bonaventure died in Lyons before the end of the Council on July 15, 1274.

Our readings today are specially chosen for the feast: Bonaventure knew that knowledge of Christ was of supreme importance only if it reached the heart and filled us with deep desire to love God and love others the way we have been loved by him by the sending of his Son to redeem us of our sins!

In all of his work for the Church, Bonaventure was a truly humble servant not only to his Franciscan brothers, but also to all the members of God’s flock whose lives his touched. And now he is exalted and praised not for being great in himself, but for being an outstanding vessel of God’s grace, and knowledge and love!

May we imitate St. Bonaventure today and be lovers, true honest and authentic lovers of God – and one another – especially the people that God will put right in our path today - with Christ’s own love emanating from us!

St. Bonaventure pray for us!

Jul 13 - 15th Week in OT - Monday

+ The first reading today talks of the fate of the malefactor; not only God, but human beings in general have a distaste for those who deliberately cheat and take advantage of other people; lie, bribe and misrepresent themselves. And then when they hypocritically want to offer sacrifice to the God, whom they know in their hearts they are offending, they actually expect him to be blind to their excesses and sinfulness. But God is not blind, nor is he ignorant, nor is he to be cajoled into receiving meaningless animal sacrifices and sin offerings. But God is always merciful, compassionate, and ready to forgive iniquity, wrong-doing and sin!

And he does his part constantly by his steadfast love and willingness to reconcile things; but he does not force anyone to do anything. Someway, somehow each and every person has to reach a “breaking point” or a “point of illumination” when “ahh” the only logical next step is to ask God for mercy, forgiveness and help for the future. Walking in the right path is not half as difficult as it might seem, for those who receive the power to do it from on high!

In the gospel passage, Jesus tells us of the radicalness of the Gospel message. I have come to bring not peace but the sword. I have come to turn everything and all relationships right-side up. Since the Fall of Adam – everything has been upside down – but now I want to right the ship – to put everyone squarely back on their feet! It is the world that still insists on being upside down, but the sane and the serious know that this is no real way to live: and it certainly is not the path to eternal life! The price that you will pay to stay on a righted ship is to let me be the captain, let me be the guide, let me be the oarsman: then you shall have nothing to fear – and you will reach the shores that you long for! Take this message to all the world: an upside down ship only sinks, a righted spiritual vessel can sail into everlasting life!

To the upright I will show the saving power of God.

Jul 12 - 15th Sunday in OT

+ The first reading today from the Prophet Isaiah gives a very brief but powerful insight – when God speaks: things happen: his Will will be accomplished “achieving the end for which [He] sent it,” how could it logically be otherwise – after all HE IS GOD!

 

But this needs to be understood also in the context of another Prophet, Hosea (whom we read during our weekday readings of Mass this past week): God has an overwhelming ache in his divine heart to show us his compassionate and merciful love – especially when we end up going against his word and will – which is just so plain easy to do – and we seem to do it over and over again (like the ancient people of Israel). We need to allow ourselves to be loved by God – and be brought back into his divine heart!

 

Jesus speaks (on behalf of his Father) just after the Last Supper: “May they be one, as we are one – all sharing our same life and love!” From what came above, if God said it: it will be done: (someway, somehow, sooner or later).

 

If as the second reading tells us we eagerly await “the revelation of the children of God” – God speaking what can only contribute to our happiness: then it is up to us to respond as fully as we are able, as fully as we are graced to be able to do: the things that he speaks to us.

 

In the gospel passage Jesus basically is telling us to be the rich soil that accepts, takes-in and lets the Word and Will of God have its way with us: trusting that its chief goal is indeed our happiness both here, but more importantly hereafter where a place of unimaginable joy and beauty awaits us – and that of course is heaven.

 

Speak, Lord, your servant is listening: let your word produce a rich harvest in me, and let me share that word with others in my life for your glory and their sanctification and overall well-being!

 

The seed that falls on good ground will yield a fruitful harvest.

 

Jul 6 - 14th Week in OT - Monday

+ One of the chief characteristics of Jesus’ personality was his compassion, and willingness to help wherever he could.  As divine Son of God he had a lot of resources that other people in helping professions did not have; as Son of Man he had familiarity with the human condition and was able to know in a precise way what was truly important to people and what wasn’t. Today we see him in two health related issues: the first a woman whose faith was able to release Jesus’ healing power in an indirect way: she merely said to herself “If I can only touch the tassel of his cloak I will be cured of my condition” and because she said this as a result of faith and trust in him, Jesus did not take the healing back, as it was already accomplished, but he reassured her that she was in fact healed by him, and that it was her faith that was the cause! Our faith can release Jesus’ healing power too – we can spiritually but really touch the tassel of his cloak anytime we want – by prayer, by meditation, by an act of faith and trust!

Later in the passage, the raising of the dead girl is also a manifestation of what Jesus can do! He has supreme power over nature. Perhaps the child was not dead but rather in a deep coma, but maybe she really was dead; in any case Jesus once again demonstrates the power of God to make itself known in the realm of nature! What is more important for us is the raising of spiritual death that can come upon us: through our own sinfulness. This physical healing can also reflect Jesus power over spiritual healing! May we be thus healed today of any spiritual illness that we have – so that we can sing God’s praises and give him glory by the works of charity and human helpfulness that we accomplish with his help!

Our Savior Jesus Christ has destroyed death and brought life to light through the Gospel.

Jul 3 - St. Thomas, Apostle

+ Today we celebrate the feast day of one of the most quoted Apostles of them all: St. Thomas the Apostle. There was a time when we would immediately connect the name “Thomas” with “Doubting” – but in our day we have come to the certain realization that the other side of the coin is the more important one: Thomas’s resounding act of FAITH, by which he cries out (when he touches the sacred wounds of Christ): MY LORD, AND MY GOD!; and which redounds throughout the ages as the most perfect prayer of FAITH and ADORATION that were ever spoken!

 

That Thomas first shot off his mouth in a barrage of disbelief was absolutely normal for a human being, the human being that he was. It resembled quite a bit the times when Peter, James and John and some of the other Apostles shot their mouths off as well in a rain shower of ignorant and senseless words. But that is all they were: words, words with no real substance or meaning. We all shoot off our mouths from time to time.

 

But the great and wonderful message today on this feast of St. Thomas is that forgiveness and reconciliation is always more important than holding a grudge and harboring resentments: if Jesus did that: no one would be forgiven and no one would go to heaven. No one!

 

In the gospel passage we see that what triggered Thomas’s act of faith and renewed zest for apostolic work was “touching the wounds of Christ” – if we need a retriggering of our faith: the most direct way is to “touch the sacred wounds of Christ in the poor and needy around us” – we must reach out to them and touch them physically (when appropriate) but always prayerfully, spiritually and even financially or other ways: they are after all depending on us for their lives!

 

There is uncertainty about Thomas’s missionary activity after Pentecost, but it is generally believed that he spent a great deal of time in India and was martyred there: there is a cathedral there bearing his name!

 

May our faith be as strong as this “doubter’s” was; and may we like Thomas know when to cooperate with grace given and allow our acts of doubt to melt into acts of faith: faith and belief that Jesus Christ is truly the Son of God – made flesh – for us and for our salvation!

 

Let us go out to all the world and tell this Good News!